Friday, April 20, 2012

Denied relief, 3 Vidarbha farmers commit suicide-DNA Reports.

Denied relief, 3 Vidarbha farmers commit suicide

DNA / DNA Correspondent / Saturday, April 21, 2012 9:45 IST

URL of the article: http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_denied-relief-3-vidarbha-farmers-commit-suicide_1678596-all

The non-receipt of declared relief for crop loss and the sudden crash
in cotton prices due to stringent restriction on cotton export is
beginning to pinch. Three farmers, including a woman, committed suicide
on Friday.

While one of the deceased, Gajanan Thorat, is from
Mahsal village in Karanja tehsil of Washim district, the other two —
Kamalabai Chavanand Gajanan Ghotekar — are from Kelapur tehsil in
Yavatmal.

In the suicide note, Ghotekar has said: “My debt has
made it difficult for me to marry off my daughter. Please take care of
my family after me.” His plea to people “not to vote for the
NCP-Congress ever since they will wipe out the farmers and destroy the
nation,” is bound to create ripples in the ruling combine at a time when
the assembly is in session.

This cotton farmer, who committed
suicide in the early hours of Friday, was struggling to cope with
instalments for a loan he had taken last season to buy a tractor. Police
have now taken possession of the suicide note and are questioning
Ghotekar’s family members.

Kishore Tiwari of the Vidarbha Jan
Andolan Samiti (VJAS) told DNA, “The state government went out of its
way to publicise its relief aid to cotton farmers of Vidarbha in
December 2011. Though the state tom-tomed a figure of Rs2,000 crore,
till today not a single paisa has been paid to distressed farmers.”

According
to Tiwari, the sudden move by the Centre on March 4 to impose a blanket
ban on cotton export and the imposition of stringent conditions for
cotton export has come as the proverbial last straw. “This has severely
affected raw cotton rates. From Rs4,200 per quintal it has fallen to
Rs3,400 a quintal. Unless this is addressed it will lead to another
spiral in farmer suicides in the belt.”

Seven million cotton
farmers, who cultivate cotton in 12 million hectares across Maharashtra,
Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab are
grappling with the worst agrarian crisis with rising costs of the
production and poor support price.

Union agriculture minister
Sharad Pawar has already demanded removal of all barriers on export in
agricultural products in a move which has found support from Maharashtra
CM Prithviraj Chavan, Gujarat CM Narendra Modi and Andhra Pradesh CM N
Kiran Kumar Reddy.Despite this, the commerce ministry has refused to
budge, lament sources.

“All earlier GOM meeting have been hijacked
and babus from the commerce ministry and cotton advisory board have
been giving fabricated data of national cotton consumption and
productionto justify restrictions imposed on cotton export. How can the
government ignore the plight of 10 million farmers and their families to
protect the interests of a few?” alleged Tiwari.